Men’s lacrosse mesh stringing tutorial part 1: top string
This is the first part of a series on how to string a men’s lacrosse stick with 10-diamond mesh. There is no shortage of lacrosse stringing tutorials online but it’s a bit of a mixed bag — some are good and some are pretty bad. For new members of String Theory, we want to make sure you are following the best advice. Feel free to learn from other online resources but reference this series to make sure you’re following our best practices to provide the greatest possible service to our customers.
What you need
In order to string the top string of a men’s lacrosse head with mesh, you’ll need the following materials and tools:
- ~1 yard of sidewall string
- Piece of mesh
- Lighter
- Scissors
Prep your materials
Leaving about an inch or two of slack at the end, tie a double knot in your sidewall string.
With the other end of your string, use your lighter to burn the end to form a hard tip. This part isn’t necessary but will make it much easier to thread your string through the head. You can skip this if your string already has a capped end.
Stretch out your 10-diamond mesh and find the end of the mesh with 9 diamonds at the top. Fold one row of diamonds over.
Now you’re ready to start stringing the top!
Top string loop
Thread the pointed end of your string through one of the top two sidewall holes of the head you’re stringing. Which hole you use is a matter of preference and can depend on the size of the holes in the head. Using the second hole will pull the mesh further down the sidewall and is preferred if the head allows it because it will result in a better channel in the pocket. But some heads don’t have many holes and the second sidewall hole is too far down—in which case, you should use the top hole.
Securing the first hole of mesh to the side of the head is a two-step process:
- Thread the string through the sidewall hole of the head.
- Thread the string through the front of the first diamond in the mesh.
Repeat these steps at least once to get a single loop securing the top of the mesh to the side of the head. I like to repeat it twice to get a double loop. Make sure to pull the string tightly to secure it. When you’re done with this step, your head should look something like this:
Top string knot
After you’ve secured the first diamond of mesh with your top string loop, you’re going to string your first top string knot in the next diamond. Stringing the the top string knot is a five-step process:
- Thread the string through the diamond of mesh from the back side.
- Thread the string through the top hole in the head from the front side.
- Form the left side of the top string knot by pulling the tipped end of the string between the mesh and extra slack of string to the left of the diamond.
- Doing the reverse of step 2, thread the string through the top hole in the head from the back side.
- Doing the reverse of step 1, thread the string through the diamond of mesh from the front side. Be sure to pull the tipped end of the string inside the extra slack of string to the right of the diamond forming the right side of the top string knot.
Easy, right?
These steps are gibberish without pictures so follow along with the pictures below to see how the top string knot is done.
Again, it is important to pull the string tightly to secure everything. When you are finished, your top string knot should look like this:
Repeat the top string knot
Now that you’ve completed one top string knot, you’re going to do three more skipping one diamond of mesh between each knot.
Finish the top string
In order to finish off your top string, you’re going to reverse the top string loop that you started with. First, thread the string through the back side of the last diamond of mesh. Then, pull the string through the hole on the right side of the head mirroring the hole that you used on the left side to start your top string.
Next, loop the string back around through the last diamond of mesh and through the same hole on the side of the head.
If you strung a double loop like myself, wrap the string around one more time to finish off the top string loop on the righthand side. Tie a double knot to secure it in place—making sure everything is tight. Here’s what it should look like when you’re done:
Final result
Your top string should look something like this when you’re done. In the next part of this men’s mesh stringing series, I will go over how to string the sidewall. Stay tuned.
